After President Donald Trump disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from a White House celebration of their Super Bowl victory on Twitter, safety Malcolm Jenkins responded with another written message.

Trump complained that "only a small number of players decided to come," and that the players had been kneeling or standing in the locker room during the national anthem, which he said was "disrespectful." (We rated Trump’s kneeling claim False.)

During a locker room interview, Jenkins tried to redirect the message to the fuel behind the player protests: racial inequities in the criminal justice system.

Graduating college with top honors is something that Angel Sanchez never imagined as he sat in his jail cell years ago. “In the 'hood, you don’t get a high GPA and you don’t graduate from a university," Sanchez said. "You graduate from the juvenile detention center and go to adult jails." 

Last month, with the support of Speaker Paul Ryan and legislators on both sides of the aisle, the House passed a bill to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). First passed in 1974 and most recently reauthorized in 2002, the act provides for the operation of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and federal support to state and local efforts to strengthen juvenile justice service.

It was over in two minutes. No objections. No comments. No updates. Thursday’s court hearing was held to set probation requirements on 19-year-old Cristian Fernandez, who didn’t attend. All the actual decision-making had taken place already, in a 30-minute meeting held behind closed doors, away from the seven reporters and photographers who had staked out the hearing.

Recent numbers released by the Justice Department show a drop in overall youth incarceration rates in the United States. But a closer look at the data shows a widening gap between black and white youth confinement. 

No United States Supreme Court decision has meant more to me during my life as a lawyer than In re Gault. Gault has been a constant companion of mine for almost thirty-five years. Not only did it inspire me in law school to become a juvenile defender, but it still inspires me today, informing my scholarship and casework on false confessions, including the case of Brendan Dassey, the 16-year-old boy whose confession to a murder and rape was featured in NETFLIX’s Making a Murderer. In May, Gault will turn 50. It’s time for me to repay the debt I owe to Gault. This essay is a down payment on that debt.

Since leaving her family practice, retired physician Dr. Paula Montgomery spends her time advocating for juvenile delinquents along with the League of Women Voters. Florida has the highest number of juveniles in the adult prison system in the country.

According to data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Circuit 1 — Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton Counties — has the highest rate of direct-filed children, compared to all eligible for direct file, at 24.4 percent. The state average is 8.8 percent.

As a criminal defense lawyer, one of the hardest things I've ever had to do was tell parents that state prosecutors had decided to charge their child as an adult. I cannot imagine the anguish of these parents to learn their child will spend the foreseeable future in chains and an orange jumpsuit, confined in the same building with adult murderers and rapists.

Article in The Florida Times Union

The strange mechanism that allows Florida’s prosecutors sole authority over whether to charge those under 18 as adults is a cold abuse of power by the state. Known as “direct-file,” this quirk in Florida law stipulates that prosecutors can send juveniles directly to adult court with little oversight or outside input. Many other states require a hearing of the facts in front of a judge before a child can be transferred as an adult. Part of the hearing focuses squarely on experts testifying whether a child can be rehabilitated. 

Read more. 

Governor Rick Scott announced that the number of juvenile arrests continued to decline in 2015-2016 according to the latest delinquency report released by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). 

It’s a perennial juvenile justice issue in Jacksonville, and Tuesday night disagreements over sending kids to adult court was the highlight of a forum at Jacksonville University.
“904-Data: Delinquent Acts, Community Answers,” presented by the Jacksonville Center for Children’s Rights and the JU Public Policy Institute, brought together representatives of the Department of Juvenile Justice, Teen Court, the Public Defender’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office to talk through local justice trends.

More here. 

The Racial and Ethnic Disparities Initiative of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office is not only working, it is changing the lives of our citizens.The R.E.D. initiative started back in 2012 long before it had a name. The School Resource Bureau changed its policies when our on-campus arrest numbers reached the hundreds and were way out of control. We stopped arresting for probation violations and petty misdemeanor crimes and started doing what we were supposed to do - educate our children.

Throughout the last year I’ve been back and forth between being free and being locked up. I know you weren’t there when I was a child, but you made an effort to be there in my later years.

The young women sat in a tight circle on purple mats, ready to start their weekly yoga session before lunch. A small centerpiece was set on the gym floor with flameless candles and inspirational stones that read “believe,” “courage” and “blessing.” “You’re in control of your body,” said instructor Rocsana Enriquez as she guided them through a series of classic poses: Cat. Warrior. Tree.

Reginald Dwayne Betts refuses to let his time in prison define his life. But he admits that he can't escape it. Even with an Ivy League education. Days before he received his degree from Yale Law School on May 23, the Maryland native was splitting time between writing his final research paper and helping a longtime friend write letters to his parole officer.